Dr. Ann Mace Futrell

Ann Mace Futrell, 90, passed away on July 15, 2023 in Bossier City, LA. A visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, 2500 Southside Dr., Shreveport, LA. Graveside services will follow at Forest Park West Cemetery, 4000 Meriwether Rd., Shreveport, LA. Officiating the service will be Pastor Dale Oden.

Lela Ann Mace entered this world on October 18, 1932 and “slipped the surly bonds of Earth” on July 15, 2023. There welcoming her to her eternal reward are her parents, Robert and Nancy (Rainey) Mace, and identical twin, Nan Mace Shelton (2008). She is survived by daughter, Nancy Futrell Berlin and husband, Rick of Shreveport, LA; son, David Futrell and wife, Lee Anne of Hattiesburg, MS; daughter, Robin Futrell Savard and husband, Louis of Ooltewah, TN; six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren; sisters and brothers-in-law, Bruce and Joyce Mace Scoggins of Longview, TX; Joan Mace Doss of Lufkin, TX; George and Ruth Mace Stephenson of Hudson, TX.

Ann and Nan enjoyed their role as “identical” – taking full advantage of their circumstance by sometimes switching classes in high school (and were even known to switch dates)! They enjoyed piano lessons together, filling the house with their thundering duet marches such as “Stars and Stripes Forever.” They played tennis together, in high school and beyond – both being athletically inclined, competitive, and passionate in their pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. Their bond exceeded that of merely “sisters.” Possibly the highlight of their life together was their shared trip to the Holy Lands.

Many passions marked Ann’s life. First being her family, pouring herself into them generously, one generation at a time. She also excelled academically, receiving her undergraduate degree from Louisiana Tech in Ruston, her Masters’ degree from LSU Baton Rouge, and her doctorate of English Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Alabama. She was a professor of English at her Louisiana Tech alma mater for over 40 years. Ann’s devotion to studying and teaching did not end with her retirement from the classroom. She continued her lifelong study and teaching of the Bible even after her ninetieth birthday.

Ann loved Jesus, and she walked and talked daily with her Lord. Although she, herself, was a Bible scholar, she filled her days with Bible study, and constantly read from scholarly theologians to expand her understanding of Scripture. When her illness made it difficult for her to read and study, she absorbed herself in the music of the faith. Seventy of Ann’s 90+ years were spent teaching Sunday School. When asked what her greatest joy in teaching Sunday School was, she replied, “Just the love of helping people understand Jesus’s place in the Bible.” Her faith overlapped her academic career – her dissertation for her PhD is entitled, The Signs of Christianity in the Works of Walker Percy.

Like her mother before her, Ann was an accomplished gardener. Her yard was a showplace, and she was constantly adding new and different plant species to her collection. She especially loved the scent of wisteria, violets, roses, and honeysuckle. Ann was as eager to share her plants as she was to share her knowledge. Also known for her skills in the kitchen, Ann generously gifted her legendary sourdough bread, blender bread rolls, and cinnamon rolls to family and to her many friends. She had the enviable ability to tuck in her lower lip and whistle loud enough to call her children home for supper! Ann was fiercely loyal as a friend, accumulating in the span of a lifetime, a wide variety of friends of all ages from all walks of life.

Ann Mace Futrell has been a conscientious steward of the talents and abilities given her by her Lord – mentally, physically, and spiritually. She has been a “good and faithful servant,” and can be assured, as was the apostle Paul. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” – a crown she will gratefully lay at the feet of her Savior, Jesus Christ.